Ballistics

Sunday, July 16, 2017

Platforms:

PC

Publisher:

Xicat Interactive

Developer:

GRIN AB

Genres:

Racing / Arcade Racing

Release Date:

October 19, 2001

Game Modes:

Singleplayer / Multiplayer

Ballistics is just too much of a good thing. There’s a reason this game was used to test GeForce3 cards – it’s so damn cool that it’s more fun to watch than play. The game can easily be shelved as OEM software for the top line video cards of the day. And with those cards, the game truly did look stunning. Your hoverbike screams through multicolored tubes in a sci-fi world where races take place in such locales as the jungles of Belize, the oil pipes of a Siberian industrial plant, and a giant futuristic city. The game does deliver an intense, thrilling experience – for about 30 minutes.

Once you’ve zipped through all seven tracks, the appeal soon wears thin. Various obstacles are scattered throughout the courses, but once you have them memorized, the challenge comes from seeing how fast you can possibly go and still make your turns without your eyes bleeding. The occasional power-up and speed pad add some strategy, but the real challenge involves mastering the ability to stare unblinkingly for minutes on end.

A championship mode dares you to play through the game on three different difficulty settings, earning more cash so you can upgrade your bike and go imperceptibly faster. The eight-person multiplayer mode adds the fun of bumping your friends into stationary objects, but it does little to strengthen the appeal of a game whose charms are entirely skin deep.